Looking for concrete plans from Kingfisher: Ajit Singh

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Last Updated: Thu, Oct 04, 2012 09:50 hrs

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Thursday said the government needed concrete plans from Kingfisher Airlines on how the debt-ridden airline would maintain schedule of flights and ensure passenger safety.

Kingfisher Airlines, which had cancelled all flights through Thursday, until the cash-strapped carrier clears a salary backlog going back half a year, is expected to resume operations in four or five days after about 100 pilots and engineers in Delhi had agreed to return to work.

"What we need is concrete plans from Kingfisher on how they will operate and how they will maintain the schedule and how will they make sure that planes are safe to fly. So, they have to reply to those things," Singh told media here speaking to media-persons. He said the government would have a look at the winter schedules of the airlines.

"The routes and all that in the winter schedule, we have to look at that carefully. In winter schedule we will start by the end of October, we have to consider all the routes and the landing spots and all that have to be considered afresh," he added.

Kingfisher Airlines was forced to declare a temporary lockout of its operations till October 4 on Monday evening.

The decision of the airlines came few hours after Ajit Singh warned that the company will not be allowed to fly if safety norms were flouted.

The Kingfisher management, which has not paid salaries to most of its staff since March, had a meeting with employee representatives last week, but failed to give any firm assurance.

As per the norms of DGCA, an aircraft cannot take off unless its airworthiness is certified by the airline's engineers. Kingfisher is saddled with huge debts and has grounded most of its fleet.